His Frustrating Baby Sister
by Sugarbubbleslove
Summary: He loved his sister, everyone knows it but damn it! She could be frustrating as hell when she wanted to be!  Prompt for September 8th


Title: His Frustrating Baby Sister

Characters: Irina/Rush (sibling relations)

Rating: Teen

Disclaimers: I do not own anyone/anything from the forum The Last Remnant. Square Soft/Enix owns The Last Remnant and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended. I do not make any profit/money or take any credit.

Summary: He loved his sister, everyone knows it but damn it! She could be frustrating as hell when she wanted to be!

A/N: Prompt for September 8th – Irina/Rush – Comfort – 'Rush looks after Irina after carrying her home.'

Timeline: When you save Irina in Darken Forest

Word Count: 1,704

Betaed: Nope

His Frustrating Baby Sister

Rush Sykes gently lifted his sleeping sister into his arms before straightening up. She moaned, turning her head inward so it rested on his shoulder, one hand coming up to clutch his vest underneath the protective clothing. She murmured his name before she fell silent once more.

He turned to face the gang, seeing them watching him. Emmy had a soft smile on her face, relieved that Irina was safe. Pagus and Torgal were conversing in low tones before they looked at Rush and nodded. Blocter just gave Rush thumbs up, relieved that they had managed to get Irina back.

David was watching them with emotionless expression. His dark eyes lingered on Irina for a few moments longer, both wondering why Irina had come to Darken Forest in the first place, and relieved that she was safe before he looked at Rush and gave him a short nod, which Rush returned.

The group surrounded Rush, making sure that he was in the middle so he would be protected if any monsters tried to attack him. He wouldn't be able to fight while Irina was in his arms and he wasn't going to put her down to fight. They could easily get to her while he was distracted.

His arms tightened around her unconsciously and she squirmed slightly. Realising what he was doing, he relaxed his arms and she sighed, turning her face so it was buried in his neck and he smiled as he realised Irina had fallen into her old habits from when she was a kid.

He rested his cheek on her head, he was just glad that she was safe and unharmed. He wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in cotton wool and hide her away from the world but at the same time, he knew that she would hate him for doing that. He knew that she hated it when he went overprotective on her.

He loved his sister, everyone knows it but damn it! She could be frustrating as hell when she wanted to be! Rush had tried to keep his sister out of the battlefield, he even went as far to make David promise. They got her back safe and sound only for Irina to follow them out into the battlefield because she wanted to protect her brother.

He hated it when she did things like this, just up and disappearing on him. It made him a nervous wreck…and guilty. He couldn't help but remember the time he deliberately left Irina out in the forest all by herself when she was younger. He had been jealous of how their parents doted on her and wanted to teach her a lesson.

That had changed when Irina didn't come home, sending the young boy back into the forest in a panic only to find his sister was in the exact same spot where he had left her. She had trusted and believed in him that it had shaken him to the core and from that moment on, he swore that he would protect his sister with everything he had.

It was hard because he knew that he couldn't go overboard with the protecting, not if he wanted her to rebel against him and end up giving him more heart-attacks. He sighed, it was troubling to think that a little thing like his sister could give him this much trouble.

David, hearing the sigh, looked toward Rush and smiled slightly at the sight of Rush holding his sister close to him. They all know how much Rush adored his sister, even when she was ticked off at him,

"We could carry her, if you like," David told him and Rush shook his head.

"Nah, it's alright Dave. I'm used to carrying her. Beside, she's really light." His face twisted into concern over how light she was. "I think I need to make her eat more," he muttered under his breath. Hearing this, Emmy looked at him.

"She has been working out more, she probably doesn't realise that she needs to eat to make up for the weight she is losing," Emmy told him. Rush shook his head.

"Irina is a bit of a picky eater," Rush admitted. "She's been like this since we were kids. I make her different things for her to eat but I haven't been cooking lately so she's probably just picked at her food rather than eating."

"What about your parents?" Torgal asked, concerned. "Do they not cook?"

"Mom and Dad spent most our lives in Elysion. It's really just me and Irina," he explained.

"Do you not have a caretaker?" Pagus asked.

"A neighbour would check on us every now and then. We didn't get into a lot of bother and we still turned up school dressed smartly and with lunchboxes so they knew we could take care of ourselves." He looked down at his sister, missing the looks of shock that crossed each leader's face. The children had been forced to fend for themselves?

"Sound rough," Emmy finally spoke up. Rush looked at Emmy startled before he shook his head.

"Nah, we knew our parents cared about us but we had each other and at the time, that was all that mattered. As long we had each other, we knew that we would be fine." Emmy found Rush surprisingly cheerful at the fact before she shook her head, an amused smile on her face. It was Rush after all.

It took a while but they finally reached the castle entrance where Marina was pacing back and forth, stopping when she would reach the middle of her path, her dark eyes scanning the grounds for any sign of her son and daughter.

She had been in the middle of this when she spotted them and relief crashed through her before her heart froze at the sight of her daughter in her son's arms. She wasn't…

"Irina!" Marina ran toward her son, stopping and cupping her daughter's cheek.

"She's fine mom, she's just sleeping," Rush assured her. Marina just nodded before she embraced her son, mindful of her daughter still in Rush's arms, and kissed his cheek.

"I'm just so glad that both of you are back and safe." She pulled away, wiping her tears.

"You should take Irina to her room," David spoke up and they looked at him but he looked at Pagus. "Would you go with them to make sure Irina is okay?" Pagus nodded.

"Yes, my Lord." He turned to face the family.

"Thanks Dave, Pagus," Rush thanked them before making his way down the hallway where Irina's room was. Marina followed them, wanting to know the news of her daughter. John was already in her room, pacing the carpet. He looked up when he heard the door opening and sighed in relief when he saw his children were back and safe.

"Lay her on the bed, Rush," Pagus ordered. Rush nodded, heading over to the bed and he laid his sister down. It took a bit of work to untangle Irina from her brother's embrace. On the way back, her arm had slipped around Rush's shoulders while the hand that was holding onto his shirt had only tightened.

Rush managed to sooth his sister enough for her relax and let him go. He took a step back, smoothing her hair as he did before Pagus stepped forward, scanning the girl.

Rush stood next to his parents, his father placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding while Marian embraced her son, her head on his shoulder as they watched the healer check out Irina.

Soon Pagus stepped back and looked toward them.

"Miss Irina is fine. She is merely sleeping," he assured them and felt the tension disappear into relief. "Of course, I suggest that she should stay in bed until she has gained her energy back and to eat as much as she can."

"Sure thing, I'm heading to kitchen after we see Dave," Rush assured him. Pagus nodded.

"Good, come along now. She'll be sleeping for a while anyway," Pagus told him. Rush looked at his parents, who nodded and informed him that they were going to stay with Irina just a little while longer.

Irina slowly woke up, her brows wrinkling before her dark eyes landed on the ceiling above her. She frowned, she remembered being in the forest and seeing Rush above her, nearly yelling at her before everything faded to dark.

She sat up, looking around to see that she was in the familiar bedroom that David had given to her. She couldn't see her parents and assumed that they had gone back to their research. She looked down to see she was dressed in one of Rush's shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. The bedroom door opened to reveal Rush walking backward in, holding a tray.

He was talking to Emmy before Emmy nodded, waving to Irina and closing the door when Rush entered the bedroom. Rush looked at his sister and relief crossed his face when he saw she was awake.

"You're up," he greeted cheerfully, making his way over to the bed. Irina shifted so her back was pressed against the headboard as Rush sat down on the bed, placing the tray on Irina's covered legs. She looked at the tray and smiled at the contents.

Pancakes with strawberry syrup, there was also some fresh strawberries and oranges in a bowl with yoghurt in a jug and a glass of strawberry juice.

"You made breakfast," she told him. Rush shrugged.

"I carried you home and I noticed that you were light. I remembered that I hadn't been cooking for you, sorry," he told her. Irina shook her head as she picked up her fork, suddenly ravenous. She loved Rush's pancakes.

"It's okay, Rush. I knew you were busy and I didn't want to bother you," she told him. Rush glared at her.

"Irina, you are my sister. It's my job to worry about you. Next time, tell me. You are not a bother." He smiled at his sister, who rolled her eyes but smiled anyway before she tucked into her breakfast.

Brother and sister sat in silence, just glad to be back in each other presence.

The End


End file.
